Thursday, October 16, 2008

How to Drift a Car

Drifting is a driving technique and a motor sport where a car slides at an angle, with its side moving in the direction of the turn.

Things to do Before You Begin Drifting

Set up a cone in the middle of the lot. Drive up on the cone and rip the handbrake in an attempt to do a 180. Practice this until you are no more, and no less than 180 degrees from when you started.

Learn how to countersteer by ripping the handbrake from a speed of 30-40mph (anything less will cause an inadequate amount of momentum to get you around the cone) and trying to control the car to a destination until the car stops.

Increase speed of each of these things until you are comfortable

try to do the 180 cone turn but instead of stopping, hit the gas hard and power out and away from the cone.

Drifting with Rear Wheel Drive and Manual Transmission

Find a car with both rear-wheel-drive and a manual transmission. Ideally it should be a sports car with as close to a 50/50 ratio as possible, and enough power to keep the tires spinning is ideal.

Head to an open area (i.e. an enclosed racetrack) safely free of pedestrians and motorists and police!

Hand brake technique:

Accelerate and shift into a gear with room to rev. Second gear is generally used because it allows the widest variance of speed and is best for harnessing the engine's torque.

Push in the clutch.

Flick the steering wheel to the inside of the turn as if you were going to turn around it. While simultaneously pulling the hand brake.

Immediately out some pressure on the gas pedal, let out the clutch, and steer the car in the direction of the slide, using throttle to control the angle of the drift.

More Throttle will make the car turn more, and also move the car away from the turn center. Less throttle will reduce angle, and allow the car to move towards the inside of the turn more freely. You're drifting!

Clutch Kick technique:Used while you are already moving to increase angle and/or revive wheel spin. While you are drifting, you may feel the car begin to lose its drift angle and power. If this happens, you can kick the clutch to attempt to revive to tires spinning speed. This is similar to powershifting, and you are in essence trying to 'chirp' the tires again and again.

Enter a drift.

while you still have the power put on, kick the clutch pedal in and out a few times as fast as you can until the car is drifting again.

end with your foot off of the pedal.

continue the drift, and when you feel the car begin to lose angle/power try to clutch kick again.

Drifting with Rear Wheel Drive Auto

Find a large, open area.

Accelerate to a speed of 20-30(depending on lot size and room)

Turn the wheel hard and floor it. You should feel the rear end slide around if this is done correctly. Only use full throttle to start the drift, after this you should use proper throttle control to continue through the corner.

Preparing to Drift with a Front Wheel Drive Car

Go to a large, open area.

Pull the handbrake or use the parking brake, riding it out the first time or two to get over your initial fear.

Set up a cone in the middle of the lot.

Drive up to it at speed (between 20 and 30 is desired).

Pull the hand brake and turn toward the cone. Immediately after you feel the back end come around, turn to the opposite direction. This is known as opposite lock.

Repeat the opposite lock at that speed until you can control your car well. Practice this for at least several weeks regularly until it becomes second nature. (Don't do this on roadways. It is dangerous to others and can get you fined.)

Slowly increase speed until you are proficient in a speed you are comfortable with. Get to know that speed--you should never drift above that speed unless you are practicing.

Upgrade. At the same initial speed, flick the steering wheel opposite of the turn and swing it all the way into toward the CONE (not turn, you aren't ready at this stage). As before, when you feel the rear end come around, go to opposite lock.

Drifting with a Front Wheel Drive Car

Approach a turn at a comfortable speed, preferably in mid 2nd gear.

Pull the handbrake while turning into the corner, try not to lock the rear wheels.

You should still have the power on, try not to go less than 1/2 throttle at any time during the drift.

- When you feel the car start to understeer, and lose angle, pul the ebrake harder. - When the car seems to turn too much, give it progressively more throttle, and release the handbrake some. -There is no textbook for drifting. You learn by doing it. -Don't tense up, just feel it.

Do not cross a carriageway. Wear reflective clothing if possible. Do not smoke in cases of chemical or petrol spillage.Ensure the safety of others

Park well clear of the accident site. Look out for physical dangers (e.g. HAZCHEM - hazardous chemical - symbols, damaged power lines or spilt fuel). Disable the vehicles involved by turning off engines and applying handbrakes.Warn other road users

Turn your hazard lights on.Assess the casualties

Are you or any casualty in danger? Is the casualty conscious? Is their airway open and clear? Is the casualty breathing? Is there a pulse?ABC checks on casualties

* Airways Tilting the casualty's head back and lifting the chin will 'open their airway'. * Breathing Ensure all casualties are breathing and have the ability to carry on breathing. If a casualty is not breathing, apply artificial ventilation by blowing your expelled air into the casualty's lungs. * Circulation If the heart has stopped (no pulse) 'chest compressions' can be applied (preferably by a qualified first aider) to force blood through the heart and around the body. They must be combined with artificial ventilation so that the blood is oxygenated (use 15 compressions to 2 breaths ratio). That will keep the body receptive to defibrillation when the emergency service arrives.

Get help

If bystanders are present, get them to phone for an ambulance at once. Otherwise, check on casualties first.Apply life-saving first aid

Life threatening or serious injuries must be treated swiftly. It is vital that such casualties are treated first. Remember: a casualty who is screaming is less likely to be in danger than a silent or moaning casualty.Bleeding

Cool burns by pouring cold water over them for a minimum of 20 minutes or until the casualty no longer complains of pain.Broken bones

Advise the casualty to sit or lie still, keeping the injured part supported by a blanket or pillow until help arrives.Give accurate info to the ambulance crew

When you dial 999, the control officer needs to know the exact location, type and seriousness of the accident; the number, sex and approximate age of casualties involved and anything you know about their condition, details of any hazards and whether any casualties are trapped.Give reassurance & minor first aid treatment

Assure the casualty that help is on its way and remain calm yourself. Treat any minor cuts and bruises.Treat shock

Anyone hurt in an accident is likely to suffer some degree of shock. Talk to the casualty gently and lay him/her down if necessary. Blood loss and shock display the same symptoms.Provide warmth

Protect the casualty from cold with a coat or blanket. But it is important not to overheat the casualty so do not apply a hot-water bottle or other source of direct heat.Consider taking a basic first aid course

Until the day comes when we are all piloting flying cars (and trust me, the day will come), our cars are stuck with these rubber things called tires. They roll nice and all, but they have a rather nasty problem of sometimes losing air. And without air, they become deflated and virtually useless.

Changing a flat tire is not a very pleasant experience. It seems like your car purposely tries to get a flat tire at the least opportune moments. Like when you are rushing home from work to catch your favorite episode of "Happy Days," for instance. You know, the one where Fonzie rides the killer bull while on vacation in Colorado.

Now, there are some of you who might be lucky and own a car with run-flat tires or a low tire-pressure warning system. If that is the case, you might be able to avoid the icky process. But even if you are a hapless soul, changing a tire doesn't have to be all bad. With knowledge comes power. If you are unsure how to change a tire properly, and you want to know, read on.

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OK, so you are driving along and all of the sudden you hear a loud bang and the telltale thumping noise of a dead tire. You carefully pull off to the shoulder of the road. Checking to make sure no other motorists are going to run you over, you exit your vehicle and inspect the car. Sure enough, your car's left front tire is completely flat. You are not going to be able to keep driving, so you are going to have to remove it and install your car's spare tire in its place.

Jack up the Car

The first step is to find your car's spare tire, jack and tire iron. The spare tire is almost always located underneath the floor mat in the trunk. Unless, of course, your car doesn't have a trunk. If you own an SUV, minivan or pickup, the spare tire is often mounted on the back of the tailgate or underneath the vehicle itself.

Once you have found the spare tire, remove it from the car. If you have an air pressure gauge handy, you will want to check the spare tire's pressure. If this tire is flat, too, you're in a bit of trouble. But let's just assume you have been keeping tabs on the spare tire's health, and its air pressure is perfect.

The next step will involve removing the flat tire. Make sure that the car is in gear (or in "park" if the car is an automatic) and the emergency brake is set. The car should be parked on a flat piece of pavement. Do not attempt to change a flat if the car is on a slope or if it is sitting on dirt. It's also a good idea to block the tire opposite of the flat tire. Therefore, if the left front tire is flat, it would be a good idea to place a brick or other large, heavy object behind the right rear tire. (Your cousin Fred might also be large and heavy, but it's not a good idea to use him to block the tire). Blocking the tire makes the car less likely to move when you are raising it.

Use the tire iron (the L-shaped bar that fits over the wheel lugs) to loosen each wheel lug. The wheel lugs are almost certainly very tight. You'll have to use brute force. Just think about how Mr. T from the "A-Team" would do it and try to be like him. Say to yourself, "Hannibal, I piddy da fool who can't break loose wheel lugs." You'll have those babies loose in no time. You loosen them by turning them counterclockwise, by the way.

Now, at this point, you don't want to actually remove the lugs. You just want them loose. Once you have accomplished this, move the jack underneath the car. If you don't know where the proper jacking points are, look them up in the owner's manual (you keep your owner's manual in your car, right?).

Maneuver the jack underneath the jack point and start to raise the jack. Most car jacks these days are a screw-type scissor jack, which means you simply turn the knob at the end of the jack using the provided metal hand crank. Raise the jack until it contacts the car's frame and continue expanding the jack.

Remove the Flat and Install the Spare

Raise the car with the jack until the flat tire is completely raised off the ground. Once this is done, remove the wheel lugs completely. Depending on how tight the lugs are you might be able to remove them by hand. Set the lugs aside in a secure location where they can't roll away.

Position the spare tire over the wheel studs. This is the most physically challenging part of the whole process. You'll have to hold up the tire and try to line up the holes in the wheel with the protruding wheel studs located on the brake hub. One trick that might help is to balance the tire on your foot while you move it into position.

After you have the spare tire hanging on the wheel studs, screw each of the wheel lugs back on. You'll want to start them by hand. Make sure you do not cross-thread them. The lugs should screw on easily. Once each of them is snug and you can't tighten them any further by hand, use the tire iron to finish the job. At this point, you don't need to get the lugs super tight. You just want them snug for now. Make sure that the wheel is fitting flush against the brake hub.

Once the spare tire is on, carefully lower the jack. Pull the jack away from the vehicle. The final step is to tighten down the lugs completely. The reason you tighten the lugs now is that the tire is on the ground and it won't rotate around like it would if it was still hanging in the air.

Wheel lugs have a specific torque rating that they are supposed to be tightened down to, but there is pretty much no way you can figure that out using a simple tire iron. The general rule here is to tighten down the lugs as much as possible. Again, think Mr. T. "I ain't flying on no plane with loose wheel lugs, Hannibal!"

That's it. Put the flat tire in the space where the spare tire was and put the jack and tire iron back in the car. Most compact spare tires are smaller than regular tires (they look dinky and people commonly refer to them as "rubber doughnuts"), so it is possible that the flat tire won't fit in the spare tire well. Also, compact spares have a limited top speed. The tire's top speed will be written on its sidewall. If your vehicle has a full-size spare, you won't encounter these problems. With the spare installed, you should be able to reach your house or the nearest service station.